What you need to know

Rehome/Adoption:

Once a guinea pig is well enough and settled, it becomes eligible for adoption.  If you are interested in adopting a guinea pig from the rescue, please feel free to contact us to arrange an appointment to bond and choose your new guinea pigs.

Choosing a new guinea pig is an exciting time for you and at Avalon we ensure the best matches are made, we will guide you to choose guinea pigs  which will mix well with your herd or where you are a new guinea pig owner help you pick out a suitable bonded pair (sometimes they even come in three).

We do try to encourage people not to buy guinea pigs from pet shops, but to choose one from a rescue. Often guinea pigs bought in pet shops are mis-sexed therefore creating a lot of problems for the new owners.

We have lots of lovable Guinea Pigs in at the moment looking for homes, including lots of paired up/trios and groups of lovely males.

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The benefit of getting a guinea pig from a rescue is we have the experience and take the time to bond all our guinea pigs. We only allow same sex bonded pairs or more to new guinea pig parents, this helps take out the anxiety for you and your guinea pigs. 

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If we have any guinea pigs which are neutered they can be adopted by mixed sex groups .

Please note we only adopt out single pigs if guinea pig parents already have at least 1 guinea pig requiring companionship. (If you are adding to your guinea pig herd, you  are required to bring your current guinea pig(s) and Avalon staff will help your guinea pig find their ideal friends (just because you like a certain guinea pig doesn't mean your little one will like them.)

Sadly due to a rise in costs of keeping guinea pigs in hay and food etc we have had to raise our minimum donation for a pair of piggies is £40, and for single piggies £20, this is still cheaper than many pet shops. This is a non-refundable donation. This helps to cover costs of treatment and care that current and adopted guinea pigs have incurred. (It costs us a lot to run our rescue each week and most of it is having to be funded out of our own pockets at times,(we hope you can understand our decision to raise the donation amounts) 

Follow-up home visits or regular photo/video updates are required to show your new guinea pig's progress and to make sure the guinea pig is not sold-on, used for breeding or subjected to any behaviour contrary to the agreement signed at time of adoption. 
If you are thinking of getting a guinea pig for your child, remember that legally it is still your responsibility, a guinea pig is not a toy to be disposed of, when your child gets bored! 

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Please note the following:

To legally own a pet in the UK you must be OVER 16!

If you do not want to commit to looking after an animal, do not get one, regardless of your child's wishes.

We are NOT here for a day trip out to amuse the kids,or a petting zoo, please respect this.We like to chat with potential guinea pig parents, to help ensure it's the right decision for EVERYONE! Especially the guinea pig!Guinea pigs are SOCIAL animals and require interaction with their own kind to live long, happy lives. We do not actively encourage neutering (unless for health reasons) as it does NOT affect guinea pig behaviour. Boys can be bonded with other boys just as girls can be bonded with girls.

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If your piggy does get sick within 48 hours you are advised to bring him/her back to the rescue for treatment.  After this period it is the owners responsibility to take the piggy for treatment to a vet.  We of course are able to offer any advise required.  We endeavour to ensure our piggies are of the best health when adopted, but unfortunately this is not always possible  piggies are prey animals and adept to hiding illnesses.

GUINEA PIGS FROM OUR RESCUE ARE NOT FOR BREEDING!!

The guinea pig WILL NOT understand that "The kids got bored!"
 

Remember a guinea pig is a living, feeling being, NOT a toy! They will miss you and wonder what they did wrong, if you give them up.